Disinfecting attachment for vacuum cleaners



Dec. 2, 1930. B R WTH N 1,783,859

DISINFECTING ATTACHMENT FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Filed Jan. 19, 1929 Iizuenzfor: .Bernarcif .15 wa ing,

Patented Dec. 2 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BERNARD P. SMITH, OF RAHWAY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE BEGINA'CORPORA- TION, F RAHWAY, NEW JERSEY DISINFECTING ATTACHMENT FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Application filed January 19, 1929. Serial No. 333,786.

The present invention relates to improvements in disinfecting attachments for vacuum cleaners and has particular reference to an attachment comprising a container for disinfecting material so constructed that incoming air is obliged to thoroughly commingle with disinfecting material before being discharged through the vacuum cleaner.

Vacuum cleaners have been previously provided with devices to impregnate the discharged air with active germicidal agents but in the constructions heretofore employed it was common practise to provide the device with an inlet opening at one end and a dis- 1 charge opening at its opposite end, the theory being that the incoming air was thus obliged to pass through or around all of the disinfecting material within the attachment.

This theory was as a matter of fact erroneous since the disinfectant material always settled on the bottom or under side of the containerand the passing air was at best simply wafted above it in a manner to actually contact its upper surface perhaps, but not in a manner to effect a thorough intermingling.

This condition was true of all types of constructions in which the various disinfectants were used. In the type in which some sort of absorptive material was soaked with a disinfectant, the under side of the absorptive material always remained more thoroughly saturated than the upper side and the passing air consequently was not able to contact the densest portion of the disinfectant. Similarly, where granular or crystallinematerials were employed, these gradually became decomposed until only the lower portion of the container was filled so that the incoming air passed largely over the disinfecting material rather than through it.

A general object of the invention is the poi-vision of a simple attachment of the character described wherein the incoming air is obliged to thoroughly intermingle with the particles of the disinfecting material before passing through the attachment.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an attachment of the character described, comprising a container for disinfecting material having inlet openings on its under side and an outlet openin at one end.

These and other objects of t e invention will become more readily apparentupon a detailed studyof the specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 of the drawing is a sectional view of the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner having a disinfecting attachment inserted therein.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation'of the attachment.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the attachment.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the device shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In the drawings, 10 generally indicates the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner, which is provided with a lower intake passage 12 and an upper chamber 14 leading to the suction chamber and fan. not shown, through the circular opening 16 in the ringer plate 18 which is mounted in the vacuum cleaner begween the nozzle, and the suction chamber and The wall 20 of the nozzle is provided with a circular opening 22 into which the attachment' generally designated as 24 is adapted to fit snugly.

The attachment 24 consists of a cylindrical member 26 made of aluminum or any other suitable rigid material and is hollow and open at both ends. This member is provided near its discharge end 28 with a raised impression 30 having an elongated portion 32 and a head portion 34.

The opening 22 of the nozzle is provided on one side with a key way into which the elongated portion 32 is adapted to slide until stopped by engagement of the head portion 34. In this manner the position of the member 26 with respect to the nozzle is determined, the head portion 34 being spaced suf-- 95 ficiently far back from the discharge end 28 to permit engagement of'the discharge end with the circular opening 16 in the ring or plate 18, thus obstructing the passage from the lower passage 12- of the nozzle to the suc- 10a tion chamber and fan and in short rendering the member 10 inoperative as an air intake.

On the opposite end of the member 26 is a detachable cap 36 provided on one side with an L shaped recess 38 adapted to cooperate with the raised impression 40 on the member 26, in a manner to lock the cap thereon so as to close this end of member 26.

The lower side of member 26 is provided with a plurality of openings 42 covered by the screen 44 which lines the inner periphery of the member 26 from the capped end to a point immediately beyond the point of engagement of the attachment 2t with the wall 20 of the nozzle, when the attachment is in position in the vacuum cleaner as shown in Fig. 1.

At the end of the screen adjacent the discharge end 28 of the member 26 is a retaining ring 46 and an end screen 48. Thus a restricted space 50 is provided for the reception of any disinfectant material, as for example a quantity of dichloricide crystals, the restricted space being bounded by the mesh 44. the cap 36. and the end screen 48.

In operation, the space 50 is partially tilled with dichloricide crystals 52 to approximately the level 54 as shown.

The discharge end 28 of the member 26 is then inserted into the nozzle 10 in such a manner that the elongated portion 32 of the raised impression 30 passes through the key way in the opening 22 until further passage is interrupted by engagement of the head portion 34 with the wall of the nozzle. The discharge end will then be in engagement with the opening 16 in the ring or plate 18 and the lower passage 12 of the nozzle will be completely cut off from the suction chamber as there are no openings in the surface of the member 26 at any point inside the nozzle, thus compelling all air drawn through the machine to pass through holes 42 of member 26.

Inasmuch as there is but one raised impression 30 on the attachment, and but one key way in the opening 22 of the nozzle, the attachment will always have to be in the same relative position with regard to the nozzle when inserted, and the openings 42 in the member 26 will always be on the underside of the attachment when it is connected. to the vacuum cleaner.

If the motor and fan are now started, air will rush through the openings 42 causing the crystals 52 within the space 50 to fly about and agitate together with such force as to cause a rapid disintegration of their mass, such action resulting in a more thorough and rapid saturation of the air than would otherwise be possible by the passage of an air current either under or over a quiescent mass of the same substance. The air thus charged with the disinfecting qualities will be drawn through the end screen 48 and the discharge end 28 of the attachment to the suction chamber of the machine and expelled therefrom in the regular manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. In combination with a vacuum cleaner having an intake nozzle communicating with suction means and an attachment opening, a container adapted to contain disinfectant material and having an intake opening and an end opening for discharge, the end of said container having the discharge opening being adapted to be inserted in said attachment opening, and means for substantially closing the line of communication from the intake nozzle to the suction means. said closure means acting to close said line of communication when the container is' inserted in the attachment opening.

2. A structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the container comprises a hollow cylinder having a closed end and an open end, a mesh lining adjacent the inner wall of the cylinder. and an end screen for the open end, said cylinder having an intake opening in its wall.

3. A structure as claimed in claim 1 Wherein the container comprises a hollow cylinder having intake holes in its wall and an open end, a detachable cap on the other end of the cylinder, a mesh lining adjacent the inner wall of the cylinder and covering the intake openings, an end screen, and a retaining ring adapted to hold said end screen adjacent that end of the mesh lining opposite the capped end of the cylinder.

4. In combination with a vacuum cleaner having a casing provided with an attachment opening and an intake nozzle communicating with suction means, a container adapted to contain disinfectant material and having an intake opening and an end opening for discharge, said container being shaped to fit snugly into said attachment opening at its discharge end and having a raised impression on an outer wall, the attachment opening being provided with a key way into which said impression is adapted to fit, and means for substantially closing the lineof communica tion betwen the intake nozzle and the suction means, said closure means acting to close said line of communication when the container is inserted in the attachment opening.

5. In combination with a vacuum cleaner having a casing provided with an attachment opening and an intake nozzle communicating with suction means, a container adapted to contain disinfectant material and having an intake opening and an end opening for discharge, said discharge end being adapted to be inserted in the said attachment opening, means associated with a wall of the container and the attachment opening for fixing the position of the container when inserted in the attachment opening, and means for substantially closing the line of communication between the intake nozzle and the suction means, said closure means acting to close said line of communication when the container is inserted in the attachment opening.

6. In combination, a vacuum cleaner cas-- ing having a chamber terminating in an intake nozzle and provided with an attachment opening in one wall, a plate forming an opposite wall of the chamber and separating said chamber from the suction chamber of the vacuum cleaner, said plate having an opening directly opposite and substantially similar to said attachment opening, and a container adapted to contain disinfectant material and having an intake opening and an end opening for discharge, said container being adapted to be inserted through the attachment opening and project through the first named chamber to engage the opening in said plate, whereby the line of communication between the suction chamber and the intake nozzle is closed when the container engages said hole in said plate.

7. In a structure as claimed in claim .6, a container having an intake opening in its wall, and means associated with the attachment opening and a wall of the container for fixing the position of the container with respect to the casing when said container is in engagement with the attachment opening and the opening in said plate.

8; The combination with a vacuum cleaner having an intake nozzle communicating with suction means and being provided with an attachment opening, of a container for disinfectant material having a discharge end adapted to be connected to said attachment opening, said container having intake openings adapted to admit air to the interior thereof and providing a passageway for the air from'said intake openings to the said discharge end, the disinfectant material being situated in said passageway, and means for substantially closing the line of communication between the intake nozzle and the suction means, said closure means acting to close said line of communication .upon connectlon' of thecontainer to said attachment opening.

. 9. A structure as claimed'in claim 8 wherea in the intake openings are in a side wall of the container and wherein there are means associated'with the container and attachment opening for fixing the relative positions of the vacuum cleaner and container when the container is connected to the attachment opening. a

In testimony whereof,' I have hereunto set my signature.

BERNARD P. SMITH. 

